Trying to Restart

I am going to have a major problem on the weekend gym session. I have not been able to go do any aerobic activities for 5 days! That is going to be a major problem. I only have the regular morning exercise to carry the routine over.

Making a point to do ONE run a week during the weekdays and try to hit the gym on both Saturday AND Sunday. That should be dredging the bottom of the exercise barrel, but guess no choice. AND I know it is definitely going to get worse.

Gotta try... just gotta try.

It has been a few days since my last post. Macbook has been out on loan, but it is back now.

And so has my exercise. I have done only light workouts on Monday and today, the 2 others absolutely nothing because of sheer laziness! And that is a REAL danger...

Because when I stop exercising, I start... eating! Admittedly, the amount was lesser and the guilt (of both not eating too much AND not exercising) was tormenting, ok maybe tormenting isn't the right word, more like popping up frequently. So, taken positively, it is a good sign that my mindgame is beginning to kick in!

I am also putting this mindgame down to the pain in the knee. It goes like this... ' I have made some weight loss, and hurt my knee in the process. So do I want to wolf down everything I see and see my knee injury vanish in vain?' That feeeling honestly is the real reason why I am so guilty these few days when I haven't been exercising.

So, weight loss is also a mind game. I knew that all along, but in a academic, detached sort of way. Resulting of course in my weight gain from mid 2007 till when I started a month ago to try to do something about it again. But this time the lesson is real painful- in both metaphorical and physical sense.

Guess it really takes a real experience to drive home the lesson that we all play around in our head. And it illustrates the cliche that nothing teaches better that life itself.

Hmmm... anothe 35min on the x-trainer and my knees are still holding up well.

Guess it really goes to show that running is REALLY punishing on the knees. Lots of research already show that the stresses are up to 5x your body weight on those poor kneecaps and its cartilages. A price really, to pay for walking upright so as to leave the hands free to hold things. Evolution-wise, no other mammals spends sooo much time on its hinds except us!

So much so that our knees really take all the punishment of holding the entire body upright, as the weight of any person passes directly from the head straight into the feet and where we have bending flexibility is.... you guessed it, in the knees!

When we either walk, bend down, sit down, stand up and yes, even run... the knees take all the weigh of balancing our bodies! So even for the briefest of moments, the knees take it all, as they have been since we became bipeds.

Now isn't that food for thought?

One week's Layoff

Coming out of last week's enforced layout confirms two things:

One is that the consistency in the mornings is an excellent way of ticking the body over on a low intensity hum.. The core abdominals crunches, butt exercises and upper body pushups help keep the muscles toned. 

The second is that the pain the knee gradually lessened. Which goes to confirm that 10km is way too much for these (coming into middle age) knees to handle. So no more heroic stuff for me! Don't want to have, as the significant other say, have a bod but no legs to carry it around. 

Got about an hour in the gym yesterday though, and gingerly started on the elliptical trainers. Not too bad... no immediate pain, and better yet, no after-exercise pain too! So much begin to seriously think about how I am to get my weekly dose of workouts in with the little time I have between knocking off and coming home. 

Oh well that is another question for another day.  

Feeling the Burning Sensations

This week has been a totally anaerobic one for exercising. The knee pain has subsided markedly, the layoff from pounding the pavement has allowed for healing.

That comes at a price of course, the endurance is surely taking a beating from this enforced layoff. Guess it boils down the the cliche of having no free lunches in the real world, everything comes with its own sticker price!

What has been good though, is the ten minute mini (micro?) workout in the mornings (and lesser the evenings). Consistency is a good word, and the virtuous cycle built up there is visible. Concentrating on the abdominals, butt and upper body and resulted in a more toned body shape- albeit one hidden (still) by all those flubbery blubbery!

One thing is for sure in these workouts: the number of repetitions has gone up, each rep is better controlled ANDDDD.... the burning sensation in the muscles is THERE!

Which is a good thing, it shows that the muscle tissues are being forced to work harder, breaking down in order to continue holding the body through the reps and subsequently being repaired during the rest cycle throughout the day.

So in yet another paradox of this real world, pain is good! At least to an extent, as it shows the body adapting. BUT.. at the same time, if the pain becomes unbearable, STOP and listen to your body. It is the body's way of stopping you from damaging your own body!

A lookback at the 4 weeks of exercising

As I get into the 4th week of my renewed determination to lose weight, this would be a good moment to reflect on the program since.

THE GOOD

• Muscle toning has been sharpen and continues to be better. I can do more reps, hold more consistent good form
• Upper body, shoulder, pectorals, triceps and biceps are more pronounced. Especially also the muscles in the forearm.
  
• I can fit into tighter shirts!
• My pants feel looser, and more cool!- literally, not the 'cool' look
• My butt feels firmer, and although still hidden by the lump of lard behind, is getting better bit by bit. (or should that be butt by butt?)
• I am able to wear shirts, tees and exercise gear that I kept away at the height of my lumpiness.
  
• Overall, I feel much better!

THE BAD

• My left inner knee hurts from all the pounding. Especially from the 10km that I did last week. Sunday the hurt was terrible, it felt like a grinding sensation of the knee cap against the other bones with minimal cartilege lubrication
• I seriously have to reconsider running, although I like (not love) running for its sense of freedom, co-ordination between breathing, rhythm and pace and especially the 'man' image. Hahah...
  

Well.. man or not, it is time to reconsider the run as a weight control measure. It is not a long term solution.

Light Work

Had a light workout day, a chance to give the muscles a break- for recovery! Just as well that it was a fortitious chance since I had over-run this week's past. I clocked over 10km/h. Once on the road (HARD surface) and the other on the treadmill (not as bad but enough to tip my knees over into the pain territory!)

So limped around a little the whole day, it was painful, the inside of the left knee, definitely caused by the gait/ stride of my walking. Unsure right now if I want to go back to the sports therapist, its costly, and they will probably get me to do more of the knee-strengthening exercise.

Anyway, gym work yesterday was upper-body workout. Concentrating on the shoulders, triceps and biceps with work also on the chest/ pectorals. Gym is definitely getting crowded these days- lots of young'uns doing a lot of 'posing'. Ahh.. the naivete of youths.

Well, a day's rest then, well-deserved! And only the morning 10minute workout!

Making up for late-week feastings!

Yesterday gym session was a pay-back:

Paying back for Thursday pig-out and Friday's non-exercise because of the rain. So on Saturday, it was a five click run on the treadmill, at about 8.6mk/h pace. It was fast-both in pace and the distance (for the gym environment) and is probably the effect of the Tuesday's road run.

It felt good, and the feeling lasted as long as the session and the shower. Not sure after that though, I felt a pain on the inside of the left knee. This is definitely a sign of over-running, and I should definitely cut back on the distances.

There is a need to also work on the knee ligament strengthening exercises now. And possibly lay off the running for a couple of days or so.


The upside of all this is that I have lost 1.5kgs since I started, and I suspect that the fat loss is higher as the muscles are feeling stronger. So, I fancy the heaver weight of the muscles could be the reason why the weight loss is only 1.5kg. That... and the over-eating over the workweek!

So, a good week overall, consistency is the name of the game, so despite the 2 aerobic workouts, the consistent muscle workout, especially in the mornings, are really kicking in! And to reflect that the weight gain was over at least a 9 month period, this loss of 1.5kgs over 2-3 weeks cannot be sniffed at.

A break, a treat and now a feast!!

Whoa.. am feeling guilty today.

Yesterday's lunch was waaayyyy overboard. The usual lunch kakies went to an Indian restaurant along Coleman Street for a super-delicious, super-calorie naan and curry buffet! One word: I can see evolution kicking in the moment I started. The curries were rich- with heaps of cream, yogurt, and all sorts of other thickening and yummy spices. And the eyes and brain went: 'OMG.. I am going to load up on these super-caloric food, not sure when my next meal would come!' I think I had 4 pieces of naan to mop up all the curries- plus their meats, fish, vegetables.

I thought I heard my stomach cry: 'ENOUGH!' but the eye-brain tag team was too strong for the stomach's protests! The brain focussed the eye and the hand just reached out and grabbed! So the feast was paradoxically, enjoyable for the tastes but bad for guilt-ridden for the conscience. And you my blog has to bear witness to this.

In other, subsumed by the screaming headline, news, my ten minute stretches in the mornings are beginning to show results. The abdominals are stronger- doing the same sets of crunches doesn't seem to hurt so much now. Pushups are also similarly getting easier. Consistency, what I have been writing about, is really kicking in. AND the best part is that it doesn't really take that long, nor that much effort, nor even gear- heck I just exercise in my pyjamas.

The effects has taken about 3weeks to show but hey, come to think of it, the impact (stronger shoulder and arms, tighter abdominals butt) are with me for the rest of the day. And that for me is a good investment.

Break and Treat

This is a picture of a fat me! It is to remind myself of the time, not too long ago (6 months to be precise) where I looked, well, frankly, fat! Or to be more accurate, fatter than I was, and feeling lousy too.

Coming out from a weekend of gym and a long cool run on Tuesday, last night (Wed) was a day-off from the running.

Having breaks in-between is vital for 2 reasons. Physically, it allows the body and muscles to rest, recover from the strenuous activities and also build up muscles to help the body cope with the next round of activity. Mentally, it relieves the body of the 'boredom', we all are fully aware that we are creatures of variety and repeating everything for everyday is a sure-fire recipe for boredom and lack of motivation.

Hence giving myself a treat is a little incentive to keep motivated and on the virtuous path I have been striding so far. My treat for myself was ice-cream, which I shared with my significant other since we met up for lunch. It was yummy.

At the same time however, the consistency theme is ever-present. The 10 minute stretching exercises in the mornings is still present, now supplemented by evening sessions after I am home but before shower. Now, the upper chest muscles are sore, even the abdominals and butt muscles- partly because of the consistency and also I introduced variations into the routine.

This last point is crucial as our muscles becomes efficient at doing something repeatedly due to its evolutionary predilection to save energy. Remember that humans are extremely efficient at storing and minimizing caloric expenditure from our hunter-gatherer days.

So another day of work beckons (groan) while I allow the my consistent morning (and now evenings) exercises to recuperate from their new routine.

Cool Running

Tropical monsoon late afternoon yesterday brought cooler temperatures, and the ever present chance that my scheduled run would be a washout. Thankfully it didn't.

What then happened was that the nice cool night made for some good running. I am sure I was faster than a week ago, AND also ran longer than that plodding pace. Overall, it felt great.

My resting heart rate is about 65bpm, not bad for someone like me, but with consistent exercise, should be able to get it lower yet. We'll see.

Run was good because I could feel that my baseline breathing and running rhythm sychronised nicely. No more of the heavy belaboured breathing of the previous week. It is startling to reflect that with the restart of an exercise from a lull period, the body seems to be able to get back up to speed much quicker than before. Could this be simply my own perception and wishful thinking? I don't seem to think so, as I feel the body adapting upwards very quickly.

My ten minute consistency episode seems better this morning. Was able to get it in without much mental groaning. I am trying to aim for a virtuous cycle where I get a buzz from exercise and then feel compelled NOT to stop as I feel better and better about myself.

To top this feeling off, my clothes getting looser is also a great way to motivate myself. No longer do I have to squirm my hands into the pocket just to reach the transitlink card, AND I can also pull the belt 1 notch tighter.

Now that is what I call motivation.

Consistency is a Ten Minute word

Yup- the title says it all!

Over the last week, I have been consistently doing my ten minutes (or so) exercises. I can feel the difference from then, repetitions have gone up, control during the movements have improved.

But I can tell you that overcoming the inertia to even THINK about beginning was the toughest part of all. That, and also the first set of exercises on the first day! Man! I can remember it clearly, the abdominal crunches felt like I had a CRT monitor welded to my stomach! I could hardly move that big blob of belly jelly then.

Since then, things have become much better. Crunches are done, twenty at a time, and with control and less laboured breathing at the end of the sets. The muscles are firming up, responding the the ten minute challenge that I am throwing at them. Two things though- one is to continue to push them, the other is to drum up new drills to keep the challenge high.

My other focus is on the shoulders, triceps and chest. Doing pushups helps, but the wobbly jelly arms are a laugh when I recall last week's first (and feeble) attempt. I could manage only two. What with that block of belly jelly and those spindly popeye (pre-spinach) arms.

The trick is of course consistency. DOING it is slowly, even if it is only 5 reps at a time, is BETTER than NOT doing it at all! So get off your lazy bones, or belly and get that ten minute workout in the morning!

Imagine, for a ten minute investment every morning, in a week's time, you can feel the difference! That's not too bad an investment, is it?

Pants are looser

Hmm.. last week's physical workouts have a fairly immediate effect.

On this first working day of April 7th, I feel that my pants are looser. That is good news, all the conditioning exercises in the morning are being to slowly kick in. All the abdominals crunches, push-ups, work on the biggest piece of muscle (the butt!) is having a noticeable effect. The feeling is great. But there is something that worries me.. the knees, I really hope that this current bout of running will not result in a future where knee replacement surgery is that way to go.

There has been conflicting reports on the use/ abuse of knee cartilege. NYT published an article citing some studies which appears to pooh-pooh the whole concept of knee cartilege as the one and only set of tires that we have and would wear out prematurely with rapid use, aka running! Honestly, I hope that that is not true! If there is anything out there that can replace, supplement, reinforce the cartileges, you can be sure I will be the first in line. I like to run, but at the same time, I have petrified as h*ll of busting them. I have many more years to go, and would not want to be wear them out even before I retire!

The pain in the left knee can be felt, a dull low ache on the inside. The last time (2007) which I saw the sports doctor at Changi General Hospital was that the doc confirmed that my knees showed signs of thining, possibly due to my running. Will have to re-start my knee muscle strengthening exercises as taught by the physiotherapist at CGH, to beef up the connecting muscles holding the knee cap to the shin and thigh bone. That means lots of half-squats in the mornings

So, I am resting my knee today, no running.. a break from the runs over the weekends.

Weekend Gym Rat

Hmm, a great weekend!

Simply because I managed to fit in some 2.5 hours in the gym over Sat and Sun. Biggest accomplishment by far.

Weights for half hour, cardio for 40min! 20 on the eliptical and another 25 on the treadmill- A full 5km on the latter too! NOT too bad.

Sunday was good too. 4km on run and working on the pectorals and shoulders. Fantastic! And muscle mass is feeling bigger. So despite the weight gain to 93kg, this is because of the muscle gain as the spare tyre seem to be smaller. If I can keep this up, I could get back on the weight losing process again.

Still have to address the input side of the scale though, shouldn't have had dinner last night. But I did, and it was more than I bargained for. Oh well, cut back today on lunch, have to! Otherwise all the work over the weekend would be wasted.

Biggest worry really is the knee, conflicting information out there (as usual), some saying that too much running will bust the cartilege and others pooh-poohing the idea. One thing is for sure though, there's some low level soreness on the inside left knee. So got to monitor that and do the knee strengthening exercises.

Flickr: Organize your photos

Flickr: Organize your photos

Excercise takes time!

Had a off day last night. Decided that it may not be useful to push too hard and also to give my knees a rest.

But am continuing with the morning stretches, crunches and push-ups. It breaks out a sweat mind you! Yes- the muscles are now beginning to ache. That is a good sign at they are responding to the new loads being imposed.

Its a great start, and the motivation level is still strong, but sustaining it in the face of increasing workload in the office is going to be tough. Let's keep going anyway and not worry about what I cannot control.

In a mental way, I do understand that the effects of exercising does take time to show. When I first started out 3 years ago on a determined path to lose weight, the first six months were the hardest. It took close to a year before any real result would show. And by that time, coupled with a stricter control on food intake, it became like a rolling snowball, gathering momentum and pace.

So, at this point of my weight control regime now, having an on-again, off-again exercise routine will surely affect the weight loss. I just have to be patient and continue to push hard, push smart and control my intake.

On a 'High'...

Gotta motivate myself. I am feeling good about my jog yesterday.

Left the office on time (for once in a very long while!) and did a run that to me was a person best. Not in terms of speed, but in terms of duration. I ran for (personally of course: incredibly) 45mins! Nothing to be sniffed yet by anyone who is a running junkie, those can go on for hours. But for me, phoaawww, that was a personal best!

Distance-wise, I guess it was not much more than 4.5-5km, but it sure as heck feels a lot longer. Indeed, I gave up only after my feet hurts! I really wanted to finish it, but did not also want to take the risk of injuring myself and having to take an extended rest period again. Like what happened a month ago when I was down with this incredibly long flu bout, it wasn't intense, but it was sure dogged!

Last night's run felt like an accomplishment. It left me feeling very good, although the mood of the significant other dampened it (a lot!). SO was on a roll- spoiling for a fight and was cantankerous on everything! Sheesh! But enough of that.

I can only hope that I can keep up the momentum. Also, the strategy was for time, not speed. There's a reason, and I am going to share this tip with anyone who is trying to lose weight.

Physiologically, our bodies uses blood sugar to power our exercises of short duration- typically below half an hour. It is only after that time, when the body depletes its short-term cache, that it taps into the fats for energy. And that is the main reason why cardio exercises should go on for longer than that, if our exercise goal is to lose weight! And although, I knew that principle, it took a paradoxical situation to remind me again of it.

Two weeks ago, I brought my kid to her paedetrician (sp?) for a nasty eye infection. He was his (unsual) chatty self and we talked about gaining weight and trying to shed it. In a long convoluted way, we came around to the fact about duration, not speed. And it then struck a chord, as I was at that time also trying to kick-start my exercise.

So, my present strategy now is to aim for duration. The only constraint is paradoxically, time itself, something precious that I do not have much of in any given day.

Feeling Hungry

One of the things which I had realised from my experience losing weight in 2005-07 is that is common to feel a little hungry throughout the day, but mostly before breakfast and before dinner. This is a good sign, as it means, to me at least, that I am not stuffed to my face from any of my meals. To me, it is crucial to be conscious of food intake, as this the the opposite side of the balance to exercise output.

It is never enough to just bump up the output, via exercise because as a office worker, I will never have enough time in a day to indulge in all the exercise that I want. And face it, over the last 2 years, from a combination of lowered exercise frequency, and more importantly, an unchanged eating habit, I have put on an incredible 9kgs. It is showing- in my clothes, through my clothes, around the waist.

Doing something about it, to get back to this shape, is my goal. And I am using this blog as my own conscience. And doing my stretches in the morning on m abdominals, gluteas and my triceps is the first step.

And that my friends, is not Rocket Science!

ps: Running was out yesterday due to both coming home late (what else is new?) and a need to rest the knees.